Christmas Present via Email

Preschool BFF Mike sent this picture to me this morning at work. Such a sweet picture. This is preschool graduation, and we are dancing together.



We look a little confused. I never was any good at dancing.

This was me ...

all this week. But don't worry ... it's over and I have made the easy transition into vacation mode.

Sorry roomies, you were all such gems.

Julie's Birthday

It's BFF Julie's birthday today. I've known her since 5th grade. We even had the same Winnie the Pooh shirt. It wasn't until we both made the volleyball team that we became good friends and then living together just sealed the deal. I should have known that we would be BFF's though. There were signs of it all through our years together. One instance was in the 9th grade. We were both members of the National Honor Society ... aka NHS (dat's right). Actually, Julie was in the presidency of the NHS because of me. :) Anyways, we had an activity at Kids on the Move and after the activity there was pizza and ice cream sandwiches for everyone to eat. Julie and I just kept eating. Slice after slice... it was delicious give us a break. Anyways, we both noticed that we were the only ones still eating, even the boys had stopped (pathetic). So being the 15 year old girls that we were, we got embarrassed. So instead of just pretending like we were full, what do we do? Take another slice of pizza and run to hide and eat it together, just the two of us, free from skinny people's eyes. After exiting the closet we were hiding in, we found out that the ice cream sandwiches were being handed out. Have I EVER passed up on ice cream? Never! So we ate our first sandwich with the group. Everyone else was satisfied with their one small sandwich, not Jules and me. We wanted another one and what are two girls to do? Why hide in the closet AGAIN! eating more ice cream. Julie's mom, Cindy, came to get a broom out of the closet, found us there eating them. She just looked at us, asked us if we were okay, got the broom, and shut the door again. There, in the dark broom closet, we finished off some more ice cream sandwiches in peace and laughter.

I have no idea how at the time I didn't realize that I had just found a bosom buddy. So glad I had more chances to find it out.

Jules, you are: beautiful, hilarious, smart, silly, fun, a great listener, style diva, talented, wonderful, my BFF, a Harry Potter lover (like me), spiritual giant, stupendous wife, genuine, and legal as of today. I love you Jules!! and Happy Birthday!

Mom's Birthday

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday! I just want to do an online shout out to tell her how wonderful she is. I only hope that one day I can be half of the woman she is.



Mom thanks for:
1. Always listening to me
2. Staying up late with me to help with my school projects or anything else
3. Making me laugh
4. Being an amazing cook
5. Encouraging and supporting me
6. Raising me in the Gospel
7. Always willing to help me with anything
8. Teaching me how to play the piano
9. Coming to all of my soccer, volleyball, and basketball games
10. And for being one of my closest friends

Happy Birthday (yesterday) Mom. I love you!

Just found this book that I think I need. Should I ask Santa for it and wait till Christmas to get it? OR I could just walk over to the bookstore and purchase it before my 12 o'clock class ...



Decisions, decisions, decisions.

Now that's just funny,

Found this treasure while searching my work computer. Laughed out loud.

Now that's just sweet

This post made my day. So unexpected and so wonderful.

Harry Potter Freak Flag

Here is the trailer for the 6th installment of the insanely good Harry Potter series. I can't get it to work with the embedding thing so ... all you get is a link. It's definitely worth going and watching.

This is what my response was after watching it:
Holy smokes I can't WAIT for this movie. It looks amazing. Why must I wait till July?

I want to be her -



p.s. Teresa comes tomorrow!

So I got this comment on my blog

"Okay Marianne! This is a little unusual for you to not have a new post on your blog. I know I'm not that great about posting but people just expect that from me, you on the other hand, I expect more. If you need ideas, you could do another blog about me and how much you are looking forward to seeing me! Ha! Ha!"

Courtesy of the always so funny sista, Teresa.

So in honor of her request ... there are only 5 more sleeps till they arrive! I can hardly stand it, I'm so excited to see them.

p.s Kelsters decided to add this comment on to the blog as well.

I agree with Teresa Mare...what's going on? Come on...get with it! :) Love you.

I guess I should be happy that people read my blog and that they want updates.

Bought this CD yesterday. His sweet serenading voice soothes my stressed from school soul.

Peas in the Pod are my favorite

I just want everyone to take a minute and look at my this post. Yes, that is my newest nephew. Isn't he just the cutest thing you've ever seen? Longest wait of my life to meet the new little guy. Only 14 more days!

I woke up to

SNOW!

Snow and I have always been friends. Together we built forts, went sledding, snowboarding, had snowball fights, celebrated Christmas and New Years. I love the snow. With that being said, I didn't mind the beautiful, white, wet precipitation outside and then I walked outside and all over campus. I suddenly feel like snow and I are in a fight, battling it out to see who can win. So far ... snow is winning.

Scrape the snow and ice off my car (well my AMAZING roommate, Logan did all the hard work) ... point snow.

Stepped in a pile of melted dirty snow ... point snow.

Walked from the JSB to the Taylor building in a blizzard ... point snow.

Pants wet to mid calf ... point snow.

See what I mean?

Earlier this week I found these beauties,



Snow wouldn't stand a chance with me in those puppies.

p.s. I changed my hair color.

What do you do with an empty box from Costco? Logan came up with the idea of trying to see who fit in the box. She obviously fit in it the best.

What are two girls suppose to do?

On a Friday night with no engagements to occupy the evening ... why of course, build a fort.

Things you'll need:
3 sheets
2 blankets
2 lamps
Push pins
Straight pins
Packing tape
Ear rings

First put your mattresses in the living room. Connect sheets with a variety of objects (straight pins and ear rings). Attach the sheet to lamps with packing tape and books and then attach to wall with push pins. Refer to figures 1 and 2 below for examples. Put your "No Boys Allowed" Sign on the door of the fort, climb in, start the movie, and ENJOY!

For variety try different patterns of blankets and sheets. The ear rings are a great way of adding a little sparkle and fun to fort as well (when you run out of other pins you'll use just about anything).

I saw it.

I bought the 2 disc soundtrack immediately after seeing it.



I love it, I love it, I love it, and I don't care who knows it. Also if you know that movie quote...we must be friends.

Memory Road ...

So I'm sitting in my little cubicle at work eating some of these



and these



and it is reminding of all the wonderful memories I have of my Grandma and Grandpa White and Richfield. Without fail my Grandma would have a large jar full of peanuts and candy corns every time my family would go down to visit. Her house usually was warm and smelled of some delectable food that she had finished with perfect timing of us walking in the door. Thinking of the amazing cook that my Grandma is made me think about how the motto of never leaving hungry is strictly adhered to while in Richfield.

I can remember all the times my Grandpa would take us on a walk around the yard to show his amazing and immaculate garden (seriously, they have the greenest thumb ever). Seeing cousins that I hadn't seen in months and in some cases years was always exciting and then making the trek down the street to the Dairy. Nothing is better than a slush with ice cream in it from the Richfield Dairy.

My Grandma and Grandpa White are incredible and my walk down memory lane has made me want to go and visit them in Richfield where time slows down and things become simple and I am completely enveloped in a feeling of being loved. As soon as things slow down in school, I'm making the trip.

Killing Me Softly With Their Guac

So today was TLFL. For those that don't know what that is, which is most everyone cause it's a very exclusive club, Mike, Julie, Kelsey, and myself choose a delicious place to eat and chat every Tuesday. Well, today's TLFL consisted of Cafe Rio, a favorite among us. While eating a stellar pork salad I had a near death experience. I am forever changed because of it. I placed a fork full of what I thought was lettuce, pork, house dressing, beans, and rice in my salivating mouth and then to my disgust I realized that most of the beans and rice had fallen off the fork and here's the worse part ... it wasn't all lettuce and house dressing, I got a very large mouthful of guacamole. Now nothing personal to guacamole but holy smokes a mouth full of it is nasty and I was gagging which led to choking.

So here I am gagging on guacamole and what are my friends doing as they watch me die? Let me tell you:

Mike: laughing hysterically because he thinks it's "funny."
Kelsey: I actually don't remember what Kelsey was doing.
Julie: making up a song about my near death experience. At the very least her song was good and the title of my post comes from her.

Yeah, they were obviously very concerned. Anyways, after gagging, swallowing, drinking, sputtering, and spewing (I was a lovely sight)I rid my pork salad of guacamole and continued to eat my delicious meal. Needless to say, you look at life a little bit different after you've nearly died. Till next TLFL.

I went here:

It was amazing. I went last year when I was in Phoenix and I thought it was awesome. So now that I've taken anatomy I can appreciate it even more. We have the most amazing bodies. Thanks so much for getting the tickets and taking me as your partner in crime, Loges!

I've been tagged ...

My Top 8:

8 Favorite TV shows:
1. The Office
2. What Not To Wear
3. Monk
4. Jon & Kate + 8
5. What I Like About You
6. Gilmore Girls
7. Food Network
8. TLC shows

8 Favorite Restraunts:
1. Olive Garden
2. Zupas
3. Cafe Rio
4. Kneaders
5. Subway
6. Noodles N Company
7. Chili's
8. Rumbi

8 things that happened yesterday:
1. I went to class.
2. Hiked clear across campus to find out my class was canceled.
3. Watched the new Jon & Kate +8.
4. Had Green Team Meeting at work.
5. Entertained by Chelsea.
6. Hung out with Mike and the roomies.
7. Emailed my professors.
8. Relaxed in the love sac.

8 things to look forward to:
1. Ultrasound on Wednesday
2. BYU Game on Saturday
3. Halloween
4. Meeting William Grant
5. HSM 3
6. The Weekend
7. My six Disney DVDs in the mail
8. Paycheck on Friday

8 things I love about fall:
1. Jackets, sweaters, and warm clothes
2. Leaves changing colors
3. BYU Football
4. Holidays
5. Crunching sound of leaves under my feet
6. Staying in and reading
7. School
8. The smells

8 Things on My Wish List:
1. The doctor will find out what's wrong with my side.
2. To travel
3. To be in shape again.
4. Run a marathon and also a triathlon
5. Getting accepted to graduate school
6. An amazing purse I found on Saturday
7. To see my new nephew William before Thanksgiving
8. To go on an incredibly fun date

8 people I'm tagging:
1. Jules
2. Karlie
3. Kristina
4. Lauren
5. Lyndsey
6. Ashley
7. Karen
8. Whoever would like ...

Timp Adventures

So I hiked Timp last weekend. People have been wanting to see pictures and since I have friends that so wonderfully blogged about it the next day, I'm just going to link to theirs. Click here and here for pictures and stories.

Thursdays Just Got Better

I will be completely unavailable tonight between the hours of 8 and 9 pm. Don't even try to get a hold of me. You will be ignored (no hard feelings or anything).

Another Check in the Win Column

Those Cougs did it again. Another win. Another shut out. Another sunburn on one side. Another great Saturday.



Have I ever mentioned how much I love BYU football? Nothing beats it in my book.

Another addition

He's finally here. The long awaited day arrived on Friday when little William Curtis Mullin joined us. Teresa and Grant are excited to have him here and I can't wait till I finally get to see and hold him.



I know that Teresa and Grant will be the best parents. Congratulations Mullin family and I love all three of you!

Facebook say what?

Saturday night was magical. A favorite band finally came to Provo and



John Allred, an acoustic local, who is excellent indeed opened.



Isn't he cute?

And then ... the moment I had stood in line for three hours came.

ROONEY!



The night was spectacular. I still am confused as to how Rooney, a real band, came to Provo to play for a frozen yogurt place in the back parking lot. I'm not going to complain cause it was incredible.

For everyone who doesn't know who Rooney is, go look them up. You won't regret it. Oh and thank you Facebook for notifying me of this opportunity.

Sharing a birthday with Keanu Reeves ...

BFF Kels ... aka Kelsters, celebrated her 21st b-day yesterday. It was filled with:

lovin' from Brick Oven
delicious sweet cream ice cream with strawberries and brownies from Heaven (us mere mortals generally refer to it as Coldstone)
Jim Halpert's cute smirk with season 4 of the Office
and lots of good laughs with friends

Happy Birthday Kelsters!! You are amazing and delightful. I don't know who I would turn to for such stupendous fashion advice, crafty insights, or count on to always having a camera on hand.

Love you

65 days, but who's counting?

Don't make fun or break the status quo. Watch it. It'll make your
day!



I bet they're soaring and flying cause they are all in this together.

I think it's time...

that someone set me up with him.



I mean honestly, I get set up on a lot of blind dates and it just seems that we would get along just peachy. So don't hold back on me people. Especially now that I can't even add him as a Facebook friend.

I want my life back ...

Olympics have overtaken my life. I find myself thinking about them, having many discussions (some heated, some not) about them. I find myself counting down the hours to watch them and if missing them staying up till all hours of the night/morning to watch them. Bless the person who invented DVR.


I like these guys.


Thank you boys for swimming so fast and almost giving me a heart attack. The win means a lot.

The 10 MOST FUN things we did in San Diego:

10. CORONADO ISLAND -- This place is crazy ritzy but we had a lot of fun walking on the boardwalk and seeing the incredible hotel there. We didn't buy anything cause well, it cost $9 for an ice cream scoop.





9. READING -- So we're nerds, get over it. Yes, we all took Breaking Dawn with us. Yes, we all took them to the beach. And Yes, we all enjoyed reading it. Many conversations were started with, "Holy smokes, can you believe that Edward did that?" or "I can't even imagine what's going through Bella's head!"



8. EATING -- We ate In-n-Out, very exciting. Found a Panda Express, Noodles, and Coldstone all in San Marcos (where we stayed).
Me + Vacation = Eating Schedule



7. PLAYING WITH TOBY -- Toby is Kelsey and Logan's aunt's dog. We affectionately nicknamed him Tobsters. He may have been crazy but after awhile he grows on ya.



6. SLEEPING -- Every night we would talk about what our plans were for the next day and set our alarms. Every morning we would all silence our alarms and sleep for half an hour more ...maybe more.

5. SHOPPING -- This doesn't really need an explanation. It was a tight fit on the way home but we made it all fit.

4. WILDLIFE ANIMAL PARK -- Incredibly hot and abnormally more humid BUT very cool. Animals are pretty amazing to watch. The picture of the lion isn't zoomed in. We were literally that close it. Of course there was glass there to protect us but still pretty cool.







3. BEACH -- What an amazing thing the beach is. It looks so crowded when you are coming up and yet there's always room for you and out in the water it hardly seems busy. It was beautiful!



2. PHANTOM OF THE OPERA -- Yes, it's true we saw Phantom. The music has always been beautiful to me so seeing it on stage was just amazing.



1. HAVE CRAZY FUN -- The whole trip was super duper fun. From the 11 hour drive down, to the eating, to the places we went, to the just sitting in our beds talking. We laughed at the most pointless things till our sides ached and loved every minute of it. Thanks Kels and Loges! It was over way too fast.



**small disclaimer -- At no point in time did we purposefully match. It was all by chance.

The long awaited ...

California Family Vacation!!

So ... I went to California with my family two or so weeks ago. It was fabulous. And I returned from California yet again last night, this time going with some of my bestest friends.

Here are some pictures from the fam trip.


The trip started with Les Mis at the Tuacahn. It's beautiful, if you can...go see it.


Some of the fam at Legoland.


Don't ya wish your boyfriend was hot like mine?


My balancing act in Miniland.


In all their black and white glory.


Sistas


Zachary petting and feeding a dolphin.


Matthew doing what he does best, being adorable.


And last but not least ... the "HUGE" White Family (this includes: White's, Stewart's, Walton's and Mullin's).


I didn't include any pictures from the beach but that was pretty hysterical. Boogie boarding for the first time ... :).

Now that this post is about a million light years long I will have to do a different post (most likely on a different day) about my other trip.